JPH06114187A - Washing machine and washing/drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a washing machine and the washing/drying machine, by which a general use can take out easily clothes which falls off in an outer tank, the external appearance is not spoiled, and also, vibration and a noise can be reduced. CONSTITUTION:The washing/drying machine is provided with an outer frame, an outer tank 6 subjected to vibro-isolating support in this outer frame, a freely rotatable basket 7 supported in this outer tank 6, provided with a pulsator 9 in a recessed part 7d of the inner bottom, and provided with a blancer in a peripheral edge of the upper opening part, a flange 7e for receiving the outer bottom of this basket 7, and a means for turning these outer tank 6 and basket 7 from a vertical attitude to a horizontal attitude. Also, large diameter holes 7k, 7l of size in which a hand can be put are provided under the projection surface of the pulsator 9, in the respective almost same position of the bottom face of the recessed part 7d of the basket 7 and the flange 7e, these large diameter holes 7k, 7l are provided by two pieces roughly asymmetrically against the center of the bottom face of the basket 7, and on both sides of the large diameter hole 7k, an extrusion rib 7m for reinforcement is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a domestic washing machine and a washing / drying machine, and more particularly to a washing machine and a washing / drying machine suitable for taking out clothes when the clothes fall from the upper edge of the basket into the outer tub. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A washing and drying machine generally has an outer frame having a top cover on the upper part and a base on the lower part, an outer tub having an inner cover with an inner lid on the upper part of the outer frame, and an outer tub. An inner tank supported in the tank, equipped with a pulsator (stirring blade) and a flange at the bottom and a rotatable basket equipped with a balancer at the periphery of the upper opening, and an outer tank from the washing to the dehydration process. Also, the so-called rotating type washing and drying machine is performed in which the basket is placed in a vertical state and the drying step is performed in a state in which the outer tub and the basket are placed in a horizontal state. The dewatering washing machine also has substantially the same configuration as described above.

In a conventional rotary washer / dryer, socks and handkerchiefs are used when a drying process is performed from the gap between the inner cover and the balancer at the periphery of the upper opening of the basket, particularly when the outer tub and the basket are in a horizontal posture.・ Small clothes such as pants fell into the outer tub, causing fatal defects such as loss or damage of clothes inside the washer / dryer. This occurs even in the dehydration washing machine, although the chance of clothes falling is smaller than that in the drying process of the washing and drying machine.

The structure of the bottom of the basket of a conventional washer / dryer is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 13 is a plan view of a conventional basket bottom portion, and FIG. 14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line NP of FIG. In the figure, 6 is an outer tank, 7 is a basket, 7d is a recess in the inner bottom of the basket, 7e is a flange for receiving the outer bottom of the basket 7, 7f is a flat bottom surface of the basket, and 7g is a flat bottom surface of the flange 7e. Section, 7h
Is a small hole (small diameter hole or small hole) for draining provided in the bottom flat portion 7f of the basket, and 7i is a small hole (small diameter hole or thin hole) for draining provided in the bottom flat portion 7g of the flange. . As shown in the figure, there was no opening at the bottom of the basket to take out the clothes 90 that had fallen (dropped) on the bottom of the outer tub 6.

[0005]

Therefore, conventionally, when taking out the dropped clothes, a special tool is used to remove the clothes.
The top cover, the inner cover, the wiring, the pulsator (stirring blade), and the basket are disassembled, and a specialist spends a considerable amount of time, which causes a problem of high maintenance cost.

Therefore, it is conceivable to provide a clothing outlet, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-38195.
Disclosed is a washing machine in which an opening is provided between stirring ridges (wings) of a stirring body at the bottom of a washing tub, and a lid for opening and closing the opening is provided. However, since this opening is between the stirring ridges and has a lid, it interferes with the work of washing clothes in the lower part of the washing tub, causes imbalance, and does not look good. Was not considered.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and a general user can easily take out the clothes dropped in the outer tub without impairing the appearance, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a washing machine and a washer / dryer capable of reducing vibration and noise.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the structure of a washer / dryer according to the present invention comprises an outer frame having a top cover on the upper part and a base on the lower part, and an anti-vibration support in the outer frame. An outer tank having an inner cover with an inner lid at the top, a rotatable basket supported in the outer tank, having a stirring blade in the central bottom central concave portion, and having a balancer at the periphery of the upper opening, In a washer / dryer equipped with a flange for receiving an outer bottom, and means for rotating the outer tub and the basket from a vertical posture to a horizontal posture, the bottom surface of the concave portion of the basket and the flange at substantially the same positions respectively, Below the projection surface of the stirring blade, an opening of a size that allows a hand to be inserted is provided.

More specifically, two openings are provided substantially symmetrically with respect to the center of the bottom surface of the basket, and reinforcing ribs are provided on both sides of the opening. The configuration of the washing machine according to the present invention also conforms to the above.

[0010]

The function of the above technical means is as follows. That is, the bottom surface and the flange of the basket are provided with openings through which a few fingers or hands can enter, and the dropped clothes are visually confirmed and taken out from the holes. Two openings are provided symmetrically with respect to the center of the basket so that there is no eccentricity of the center of gravity of rotation, and the cause of vibration during high-speed rotation is eliminated. Further, by providing reinforcing ribs on both sides of the opening, it is possible to prevent the bottom surface of the basket and the flange from being softened by the opening, and to increase the rigidity of this portion.

Thus, when a user of a general washing machine or a washing / drying machine drops clothes, the pulsator is removed with an ordinary screwdriver, the basket is rotated, and the clothes dropped are checked through the opening, and the finger or hand is used. It is sufficient to take out the clothes with and then attach the pulsator, and the dropped clothes can be taken out very easily, and the fatal trouble can be solved.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
Will be described with reference to. FIG. 1 is an internal vertical cross-sectional view of a washer / dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention during washing, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the washer / dryer of FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main part of the same machine with a top cover removed, FIG. 4 is a front view of the washer / dryer shown in FIG. 1 with an outer frame of the machine removed, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the aircraft as seen from the bottom side, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the aircraft of FIG. 2 with the top cover removed, and FIG. 7 is an AG of the aircraft of FIG.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrow, FIG. 8 is a control circuit diagram of one embodiment of the present invention,
9 is an explanatory view showing an operation cycle of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a front view of an operation panel of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a bottom portion of the basket shown in FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line LM in FIG.

The washing and drying machine of this embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 has a hanging bar 2 and a vibration-proof spring 3 inside a steel plate box-shaped outer frame 1 having a top cover 1a in the upper part and a base 1c in the lower part. Thus, the outer tub 6 to which the rotating beam 5 is integrally fixed via the rotating base 4 is vibration-isolated and supported. In the outer tub 6, a basket 7 is supported, which is a rotary tub having substantially the same cross-sectional shape and also serving for washing, dehydration and drying. A fluid balancer (hereinafter simply referred to as a balancer) 8 is attached to the periphery of the upper opening of the basket 7 by friction welding or screw connection. A plurality of vertical rib-shaped lifters 7a are provided on the side wall of the basket 7 for rotating the cloth during drying.

As shown in FIG. 1, a large number of grooves 7b are provided at equal intervals between the lifters 7a, and a large number of dehydration holes 7c are formed in the grooves 7b. At the center of the inner bottom of the basket 7,
A recess 7d for rotatably mounting a large pulsator 9 (stirring blade) is formed, and this recess 7d is for preventing the pulsator 9 from winding laundry (clothes). The rigidity near the outer peripheral portion of the recess 7d plays an important role in the rigidity of the basket 7 in the falling direction.

Details of the structure of the lower portion of the basket will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 11 and 12. In FIGS. 11 and 12, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 13 and 14 indicate the same parts as those in the prior art. In order to increase the rigidity of the basket 7, the flange 7e is fixed to the lower surface of the outer peripheral portion of the recess 7d at the inner bottom of the basket 7 with screws or the like. A plurality of small holes (small diameter holes or thin holes) 7h, 7i for draining water are provided in the bottom flat portions 7f, 7g of the basket 7 and the flange 7e. Further, large-diameter holes 7k and 7l related to the opening for taking out the falling clothes 90 are provided. That is, 7k is
Large-diameter hole opened in the bottom flat portion 7f of the basket 7, 7l
Is a large diameter hole opened in the flat bottom portion 7g of the flange 7e. Two large-diameter holes 7k and 7l are provided at substantially the same positions on the bottom surface of the recess 7d of the basket 7 and the flange 7e, respectively, below the projection surface of the pulsator 9 and substantially symmetrically with respect to the center of the bottom surface of the basket 7. It is provided.

The size of the large diameter holes 7k and 7l is estimated as follows.
The size of the clothes 90 that has fallen into the outer tub 6 is set so that it can be picked up by a person's hand or three fingers. Basket 7
Reinforcing extrusion ribs 7m are formed on both sides of the large diameter hole 7k to prevent the strength reduction due to the large diameter hole 7k. The small holes 7h and 7i and the large diameter holes 7k and 7l are arranged so as not to be seen from the outside when the pulsator 9 is attached by the mounting screw 9a, that is, the arrangement below the projection surface of the pulsator 9.

At the upper end of the outer tub 6, the outer tub 6 and the basket 7 are provided.
The inner cover 10 is fixed in order to prevent the clothes from falling between the inner cover 10 and the inner cover 10. In this inner cover 10,
A half-moon shaped clothes inlet 10a shown by a broken line in FIG. 6 is provided, and an inner lid 10b is provided to prevent the clothes from scattering when the drying process is performed in a horizontal posture.

However, as described above, the small clothes 90 such as socks, handkerchiefs and pants may drop especially when the outer tub 6 and the basket 7 are placed in a horizontal posture during the drying process. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the large-diameter holes 7k and 7l to take out the dropped clothes 90.

A drive device 11 for rotating the pulsator 9 and the basket 7 is attached to the outer bottom of the outer tub 6 via a steel plate base 12. The base 12 has a substantially box shape, and is fixed to the outer bottom portion (rotating beam) of the outer tub 6 with screws or the like. As shown in FIG. 5, the drive unit 11 includes a washing / dewatering motor 12 a and a drying motor 12 a.
b and the clutch mechanism 13, and transmission mechanisms 14a and 14 that transmit the rotations of the motors 12a and 12b to the clutch mechanism 13.
b and a brake device 15 for stopping the rotation of the basket 7.
And a deceleration mechanism 16 for decelerating the rotation of the motor 12a and transmitting the decelerated rotation to the pulsator 9.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the rotating beam 5 is fixed to the outer tub 6 at two positions before and after the outer peripheral portion by welding or the like. At the center of the rotating beam 5, there is a rotating shaft 5a.
(See FIG. 7) is fixed by welding or the like. The rotating shaft 5a is fitted with a bearing portion 4a provided in the central portion of the rotating base 4, and the pressing plate 4b is fixed with a screw or the like to restrain the movement in the axial direction. These bearing mechanism parts are provided at the front and rear parts of the outer tub 6, respectively.

Reference numeral 17 is a crank, and metal 18 is press-fitted and fixed to both ends thereof. One of the metals 18 is rotatably fitted in a crankshaft 19 provided on the turning base 4, and the other is rotatably fitted in a crankshaft 22 on an arm 21 provided integrally with a turning motor 20. A motor base 23 is fixed to the base 12 with screws or the like, and the rotary motor 20 is fixed with screws or the like.

A blower 24 has its suction port 25 and an exhaust port 26 provided at the lower end of the outer tub 6 airtightly connected by a duct 27 (see FIG. 6). During the drying process, hot air circulates in the duct 27. Reference numeral 28 shown in FIG. 1 is a sheathed heater that supplies hot air during the drying step, and is fixed to the bottom of the outer tank 6.

FIG. 8 shows a connection diagram of the present washing and drying machine. The circuits are roughly classified into input-related circuits, output-related circuits, load-related circuits (including actuators), and other circuits.

As an input-related circuit, when the lid 1b of the outer frame 1 is opened / closed and dehydrated, the basket 7 rotates at a high speed, and when the outer tub 6 vibrates due to unbalance of clothes, it is turned on / off depending on the magnitude of the vibration. Safety switch 29, water level sensing circuit 3 for detecting water supplied to outer tub 6 during washing
Hz signal circuit 32 sending 0, 50/60 Hz signal to the microcomputer 31, input switch reading circuit 33,
There are input switch circuits such as a door switch fetch circuit 34, a current sensing circuit 35, a cloth amount sensing circuit 36, a temperature sensor 37, a humidity sensor 38, and a humidity sensing circuit 39.

The output-related circuit is a microcomputer 3
6-phase clock circuit 40 that amplifies the signal from 1, a progress and clock display circuit 41, a drive circuit 42 including an amplifier circuit and a switching circuit for driving a load group, a buzzer 43, an output circuit such as an oscillation circuit 44, etc. There is.

Next, as a load-related circuit, the washing motor 1
2a, water supply valves 45 and 46, detergent injection Mg (magnet)
47, a softener Mg 48, a valve state detection switch 50 that works in conjunction with a drain motor 49, a rotation motor 2 that rotates the outer tub 6 after a so-called washing process of washing → rinsing → dehydration is completed.
0, a motor lock Mg 51 that locks the rotation motor 20 in an inclined state, a position sensor 52 that detects a rotation position of the outer tub 6 with a microswitch, a clutch Mg 53, a drying motor 12b, and a heater (1) including a sheath heater 28. 5
4, a load circuit is formed from the heater (2) 55 and the like.

Further, as another circuit, the microcomputer 3
A clock generation circuit 56 for generating a basic clock of 1, a reset circuit 58 for initializing the microcomputer 31 when the power switch 57 is turned on, and an automatic off switch 59 for automatically turning off the power switch 57 when the microcomputer 31 is in a runaway state. The auto-off switch 59 has another function to turn off the power switch 57 after a certain time has passed after the completion of all the operations.

Reference numeral 61 denotes an auto-on relay used during a reserved operation, that is, a cycle of operation after a fixed time, and has a function of turning on after a fixed time. Other components include a power supply circuit 62 that supplies electric power to each unit. The above circuit is
In terms of hardware, it is composed of a membrane substrate 63 having a display and an operation panel, a main substrate 64 having an electronic circuit, a load and an actuator 65, and the like.

FIG. 9 shows an example of an operation cycle table of the present washing and drying machine. As the operation process, the washing process 66 and the drying process 6
7, the operation cycle can be roughly divided into a one-time continuous washing and drying cycle (fully automatic cycle) and a manual cycle. The all-in-one washing / drying cycle is one in which the washing process and the drying process are carried out all at once, and it is fully automatic. The washing process Doronko 68, Standard 69, Oisogi 70, Wool 71
It is composed of a detailed 72 of the drying process, a standard 73, a finish 74, and an iron 75, and the operating time of each cycle is as shown by the diagonal lines in FIG.

Next, an example of the operation panel is shown in FIG. 7
6 is a power button, and a washing / drying (abbreviation for washing and drying) button 7
7, Wash button 78, Dry button 79, Start / Pause button 80 and display LED are L for cloth amount check
One ED 81, four wash cycle LEDs 82, four dry cycle LEDs 83, and a remaining time display and a reservation timer display 84 are provided on the operation panel surface. In addition, a time setting button 85, a rinse button 86, a keep-on button 87, a reservation timer button 88, and a drain button 89 are provided in the cover (not shown). The washer / dryer of this embodiment has the above-described configuration.

The operation will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First of all, to explain the conceptual basic operation, of the washing and drying process,
The washing process 66 of washing → rinsing → dewatering is performed in a state where the outer tub 6 is in the vertical posture, that is, in the state of FIG. 2, and the drying process 67 is performed in a state in which it is rotated to a substantially horizontal posture, that is, in the state of FIG. After the completion, it is rotated to return to the state of FIG. 2, and one cycle from washing to drying is completed. The basic operation will be described in detail. First, the lid 1b and the inner lid 10b are opened, and the clothes are put into the basket 7. After the charging is completed, the inner lid 10b and the lid 1b are closed.

When the washing / drying button 77 on the operation panel is pushed and the start button 80 is pushed, the washing cycle is standard 69,
The drying cycle starts with the standard 73 wash-dry cycle,
The washing process 66 and the drying process 67 are performed, the washing / drying cycle is completed, and the clothes can be taken out in a washed and dried state.

At this time, as described above, washing, rinsing, and dehydration are performed with the outer tub 6 (including the internal bicket 7 and hereafter simply referred to as the outer tub) being in a vertical posture, and rotated immediately before moving to the drying step 67. The motor 20 is energized, and the outer tank 6 is tilted and rotated substantially horizontally by the link mechanism. When the outer tub 6 is in a substantially horizontal posture, the rotation motor 20 is stopped by the position sensor 52, the rotation motor 20 is locked by the motor lock Mg51, and the drying process 67 is performed. This drying process 67
Since the basket 7 is rotated at a low speed by the drying motor 12b, the clothes in the basket 7 are lifted in the rotating direction and naturally fall near the top of the basket 7, and at the same time, the clothes are uniformly blown with warm air. As a result, the clothes are evenly dried.

Next, the operation of another washing / drying cycle will be explained. For example, when the washing cycle is carried out other than the standard 69, first, the washing / drying button 77 is pushed and the washing button 78 is pushed to select a desired washing cycle, When the start button 80 is pressed, the standard 73 wash / dry cycle can be performed with the desired wash cycle. In addition, a desired washing / drying cycle can be executed by performing the same procedure as described above regardless of whether only the drying cycle is changed or both the washing cycle and the drying cycle are changed. Also, in other single cycles, for example, only the washing cycle, only the drying cycle, etc., by pressing only the desired button and pressing the start button 80, the desired cycle can be executed.

The features of the present invention in this embodiment will be described. Large-diameter holes 7k and 7l for taking out the fallen clothes are provided on the concave plate 7d and the flange 7e of the basket 7, and the size of the holes is set to a size that allows a finger or a hand to enter. As a result, a general user can use the ordinary screwdriver to attach the mounting screw 9
The pulsator 9 may be removed by turning a, and the clothes 90 that has fallen into the outer tub 6 from the large diameter holes 7k and 7l may be visually checked and then taken out with a finger or a hand. Therefore, the removed clothing 90 is
It can be taken out easily, and there is no need for an expert to disassemble and assemble the entire body as in the past.

By providing the large-diameter holes 7k and 7l symmetrically with respect to the center of the basket 7, the center of gravity of rotation can be balanced and vibration and noise can be reduced. Further, since the extrusion rib 7m is formed in the vicinity of the large diameter holes 7k and 7l, the rigidity can be increased and the vibration damping performance can be improved. Moreover, the large-diameter holes 7k and 7l are below the projection surface of the pulsator 9 and do not spoil the appearance.

In the above embodiment, an example of a washing and drying machine was explained, but it goes without saying that the action and effect of the present invention extends to a one-tank type dehydration washing machine.

[0038]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the clothes dropped in the outer tub can be easily taken out by a general user, and the appearance and appearance of the garment are not impaired. It is possible to provide a washing machine and a washer / dryer that can reduce the load.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal vertical cross-sectional view of a washer / dryer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention during washing.

2 is a front view of the washer / dryer shown in FIG. 1 when the outer frame of the washer is peeled off at the time of washing.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an essential part of the same machine, with a top cover removed.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the washer / dryer of FIG. 1 when the outer frame of the washer / dryer is peeled off and seen.

5 is a bottom view of the aircraft shown in FIG. 2 viewed from the bottom side.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the aircraft shown in FIG. 2 with a top cover removed.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-G of the aircraft shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a control circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation cycle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view of an operation panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a plan view showing a bottom portion of the basket shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line LM in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a conventional basket bottom portion.

14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line NP of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Outer Frame 1a Top Cover 1b Lid 1c Base 2 Hanging Rod 3 Anti-Vibration Spring 4 Rotating Base 6 Outer Tank 7 Basket 7d Recess 7e Flange 7f, 7g Bottom Flat 7h, 7i Small Hole 7k, 7l Large Diameter Hole 7m Extrusion Rib 8 Balancer 9 Pulsator 10 Inner cover 90 Clothing

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hajime Takahashi 1-1-1, Higashitaga-cho, Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki Hitachi Ltd. Living Equipment Division Taga Manufacturing Headquarters

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An outer frame having a top cover on the upper part and a base on the lower part, an outer tub having an inner cover with an inner lid on the upper part for vibration-proof support in the outer frame, and an inner pod supported in the outer tub. In a washing machine comprising a rotatable basket having a stirring blade in the center recess of the bottom and a balancer at the periphery of the upper opening, and a flange for receiving the outer bottom of the basket, a bottom surface of the recess of the basket and the flange A washing machine characterized in that an opening of a size that allows a hand to be put is provided below the projection surface of the stirring blade at each substantially same position. 2. An outer frame having a top cover on the upper part and a base on the lower part, an outer tub having an inner cover with an inner lid on the upper part for vibration-proof support in the outer frame, and an inner pod supported in the outer tub. A rotatable basket having a stirring blade in the central recess of the bottom and a balancer at the periphery of the upper opening, a flange for receiving the outer bottom of the basket, and a means for rotating the outer tank and the basket from a vertical posture to a horizontal posture. A washer / dryer comprising: a bottom of the basket and a flange at substantially the same position, respectively, below the projection plane of the stirring blade, and an opening of a size that allows a hand to be inserted is provided. Washer / dryer. 3. An opening provided with two openings substantially symmetrically with respect to the center of the bottom surface of the basket.
The described washing machine and washer / dryer. 4. The washing machine and washer / dryer according to claim 1, wherein an opening and a plurality of small holes for draining water are provided side by side. 5. The washing machine and washer / dryer according to claim 1, wherein reinforcing ribs are provided on both sides of the opening.